An Apple (Several Times) a Day

Thanksgiving is here!  Seemingly a bit early, but anytime is a good time to take stock in all the goodness in our lives.  And this taking stock is one of the most effective ways we can support our own mental health.  The act of taking stock helps us feel good in the moment because it helps us to have a sense of “my needs are being met”.  But this is just the beginning.  Once we feel that our needs are met, we are empowered to act with kindness to others - to help them feel that their needs are met.  And then, guess what they do?  Yep, they pay it forward, and so on, and so on, and so on.  It’s immensely empowering and hope-inspiring to contemplate that your own act of acknowledging the goodness in your life will have a ripple effect of kindness possibly to the far reaches of the globe. 

But why do we need to actively cultivate this sense of gratitude?  Shouldn’t it just be ever-present?  Well, our brains are amazing, with roughly 86 billion neurons.  Those neurons use a lot of energy - 20% of all of the energy used by the body.  In order to conserve energy, our brain creates some shortcuts.  Specifically, the part of the brain that determines what rises to the level of our consciousness (the Reticular Activity System for you fellow brain geeks out there), learns to ignore things that don’t pose a threat.  This process is called Habituation.  That apple you ate this morning?  The brain has learned that apples don’t pose a threat to you, so it will basically ignore the apple, despite its glorious color, its crisp sweetness and the delightful crunch it provides.

So we have to lend a hand to our fabulous brain and pause a few times each day to actively celebrate all that doesn’t pose a threat, allowing these things to rise up to the level of our consciousness.  We invite you this week to join us as we steep ourselves in gratitude and awareness for all of the goodness in our lives.

May all beings everywhere without exception (no matter how many neurons they have!) be conscious of all of the goodness that surrounds them - and please know that we never become habituated to your presence in the CMP community!!

With abundant gratitude,
Your friends at CMP